Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 24: Reunions

It'd been four days since Naruto's arrival back in Konoha with Yugito. Life in Konoha did not change since Yugito's arrival nor did she get treated weirdly by any of the Konoha populace. Even with her Kumo background, it seemed Naruto's reputation superseded any bad stigma that attached itself to her. Even in the all-seeing eyes of the Hyuga Clan. Being well-received and famous had its perks.

Being in a relationship had its perks as well and Naruto took advantage of it every day since Yugito's arrival. Even right now as Yugito was getting dressed in Naruto's room. She was putting the finishing touches on her outfit when she noticed Naruto coming into the room.

"Naruto-kun, are you ready to go to the gate?" asked Yugito turning around to see Naruto. "Naruto-kun, we can't do that right now, we'll be late."

Naruto stood in the doorway of his bedroom, dressed in only a helmet and a shield with nothing else on. "To the gate?" said Naruto before it dawned on him. "Oh yeah. That's today, huh? Well, shoot. I worked hard on this outfit. I got the helmet, shield, and obviously a-"

"Sword," said Yugito suggestively while wrapping a hand around Naruto's 'sword'. "I think we have a few minutes to spare."

(At the Village Gate, 10 minutes later)

"Where the hell is Naruto?" questioned Tsunade as she stood impatiently at the gate. Lounging on the outer gate walls, reading his orange book, was Kakashi. Kakashi was actually on time today due to Tsunade telling him to be at the gate 4 hours earlier, prompting him to arrive still 5 minutes late even with a 4 hour grace period.

"I'm sure he'll be here Hokage-sama. Don't worry," said Kakashi as he lazily flipped a page in his book. "He's actually coming right now. And just on time too because they're approaching."

Naruto and Yugito appeared via a shunshin as they landed next to the busty Kage and elite Jonin.

"Present and accounted for Ba-chan," said Naruto, dressed in his standard Konoha attire complete with his flak jacket. Yugito stood next to Naruto in simply a blue, v neck shirt with black pants and black sandals on.

"Good Morning, Hokage-dono. It seems we weren't late, thankfully," said Yugito with a smile as Tsunade smiled back at the young blonde girl.

"Good morning to you too Yugito-chan and brat. Glad to see you both make it, I was a little worried there," said Tsunade as she looked out toward the path to see several figures approaching Konoha. "Look sharp now, here they come. And Naruto, why do you have a helmet on?"

Naruto turned red as he grabbed the helmet off his head and flung it out of sight and out of mind into the bushes. About a minute later, the group that was approaching Konoha finally made contact.

"Hello Hello Hello. Welcome to Konoha, I am Konoha's Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade," said Tsunade, extending a hand to who she deemed as the most important in the group that arrived. "Mei-dono, it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

Mei happily placed a hand out to shake with Tsunade as she smiled at the blonde Hokage in front of her. "The pleasure is all mine Tsunade-dono. I'm just happy that you extended this alliance offer to us in Kirigakure. And for that, on behalf of Kiri and myself, as it's Godaime Mizukage (Water Shadow), I thank you."

Mei was a beautiful, slender woman. She has green eyes, and ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band, and four bangs at the front. She wears a long-sleeved, dark blue dress that falls just below the knees. Underneath, she wears mesh armor that covers slightly more of her upper body than her dress. To complete her outfit she wears high-heeled sandals, dark blue polish on her fingers and toes with matching blue lipstick.

"Can you say milf?" said Naruto hearing Kurama say 'milf' in his head at Mei's beauty. "And I believe those are double Ds she's sporting-damn it. Jiraiya-sensei's teachings are still in my head." thought Naruto in his head as he looked over Mei in an unnoticeable manner due to Yugito standing right beside him.

"Your mate is attractive in her own ways but that human is downright beautiful. Even I can see this. I'd kill her so hard," said Kurama as Naruto internally nodded his head at the comment.

"I hear you on that. I'd kill her so hard too if I wasn't in a relationship-wait, kill her? Never mind," replied Naruto in his head as he stopped internally talking to see the rest of Mei's contingent begin greeting Tsunade, Kakashi, and Yugito. With Mei were a group of four people, two of which Naruto recognized immediately upon seeing.

The first being one of the Legendary Seven Swordsmen, Momochi Zabuza. Zabuza still looked the same since when Naruto first met him, except he now had on the standard flak jacket of Kiri with a shirt on underneath. Zabuza still lugged around his Kubikiribocho on his back and his ever-present 'Ninja Face' was still on and just as menacing as when Naruto first met him.

The second person Naruto recognized in the contingent of Mei's was the even more beautiful Haku. Haku was the hunter nin who accompanied Zabuza on Naruto's first C rank mission to Wave. Haku grew slightly over the four years since seeing Naruto, now standing at a height of five foot 5 inches tall. She was wearing her long black hair loosely, and wore a pink, sleeveless kimono, with pale red edges and decorated with small plum-colored swirls, that went to her ankles. Around her waist was a simple white obi tied in a bow, and she wore a pair of light brown sandals with dark straps. She also wore a dark-colored choker around her neck and her Kiri forehead protector could be seen on her right arm, around her bicep.

"Damn. Can you say-you know what, never mind. I think you get the point. Haku's hot and without her chest bindings on I see C cups-arghh! Why was that the first thing Jiraiya-sensei taught me." thought Naruto perversely as he eyed Haku as well, still unnoticeable by those around him.

"Heh, doesn't it seem weird to you though?" questioned Kurama in Naruto's head. After getting a "what" from his jinchuriki, Kurama decided to elaborate. "All of the most beautiful women in the world seem to be some of the strongest Kunoichis in the world as well. I mean face it, Yugito and Tsunade are powerful and I'm certain these two are as well. But that girl from the Cryptoanalysis group, Shiho, is not a 'dime' as you would call it and definitely one of the weakest kunoichis I've seen."

"That's cold Kurama but that is weird, isn't it. It must be a conspiracy or something," replied Naruto in his head before he was nudged by Yugito, stopping his internal conversation with Kurama.

"Naruto-kun. are you not going to shake his hand?" questioned Yugito as Naruto looked over to see the other two members of Kiri's group with their hands extended. Naruto nodded his head before extending a hand out to the two others with Mei.

"Sorry about that, I was lost in my head in contemplation. I'm Naruto," said Naruto shaking the first guy's hand.

"It's no worries. I'm Chojuro," said the now known Chojuro. Chojuro was a ninja of seemingly the same age as Naruto. Chojuro has short, tufty blue hair, and dark eyes. He also has pointed, shark-like teeth. He wears square, black-rimmed glasses connected to ear protectors, a blue pin-striped shirt, and camouflage pattern pants. Also, he wears his forehead protector on the front of his holster which he uses to carry Hiramekarei.

Naruto noticed the shark-like teeth of Chojuro and the sword on his back and perked up at the two traits.

"You're a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?" questioned Naruto excitedly at that prospect.

Chojuro fidgeted slightly at Naruto's question. "Well, yes. I am one of the Seven Swordsmen and this is my blade, Hiramekarei," said Chojuro, though you could tell from just that one sentence that he was a timid individual.

"Well, that's cool. I'd love to spar with you someday during your stay here, it'd be fun to see what you could do," said Naruto with a smile that Chojuro awkwardly nodded back to and attempted to reciprocate. The man standing next to Chojuro shook his head at the actions that just preceded.

"Kids these days. Have no respect for their elders. I mean back in my day, we used to shake hands with the elder shinobi first before shaking hands with the younger ones, as a sign of respect," said the man before seeing Naruto extend his hand toward him.

"My apologies sir, but I do actually recognize you. You're a member of Kiri's Anbu Hunter Nin Division and one of the heroes of the war against Yagura. Ao, if I'm not mistaken. It's a pleasure to meet you," said Naruto as Ao looked impressed at the young man before him.

"My my, it seems the younger generation does have a few good ninjas. It's good that you know your history. But then again, information is one of a ninja's best tools and I'm certain you know that," said Ao as Naruto nodded his head.

While Naruto was talking with Chojuro and Ao, Yugito walked over to Haku and began to engage her in conversation.

"Hi, I'm Nii Yugito," said Yugito as she held a hand out for Haku to shake, which Haku shook in kind.

"Nice to meet you Yugito-san, I'm Yuki Haku. I've heard so much about you from Naruto-kun's letters." Yugito arched an eyebrow at that as Haku put up placating hands. "No no, it's nothing like that. Naruto was mainly the go-between me and another ninja but I did ask him about his life and you were at the head of it. He's quite into you."

"Is he really?" questioned Yugito as Haku reached into the backpack that she held.

"I have the letters with me. Want me to read what he said?" questioned Haku with a small smirk as Yugito nodded her head jovially. While all this was going on, Mei and Tsunade were busy chatting away with one another so Zabuza figured he'd go and talk to the only person of the group that he deemed okay.

"Kakashi," said Zabuza as the silver-haired ninja peered his lone, visible eye at the Kiri ninja.

"Zabuza," replied Kakashi before eye smiling at him. "Seems you've become quite the shinobi since our last meeting."

A visible grin could be seen behind the bandaged part of Zabuza's face. "One of Kiri's elite Jonin if you want to get technical, and also the leader of the next Seven Swordsmen. It's quite the accomplishment," said Zabuza as he looked over at Naruto talking to Chojuro. "And it seems that while you haven't seemed to change, that blonde-haired brat has gotten quite famous and tall since the last time we met."

Kakashi also panned his eyes over to Naruto. "Seems like he has but it wasn't because of me, that's all him," said Kakashi smiling before looking at Haku. "And it seems she's grown up well."

Zabuza chuckled slightly. "So she has. We've been together now for 15 years and finally, she seems happy. No more running, no more dangerous missions for money. Well, maybe not that last thing. We're shinobi after all but, we have a home in Kiri and it's only getting better."

"So it seems. Don't tear up on me now Zabuza. I don't think I have a tissue on me." said Kakashi as he flipped a page in his book.

Zabuza looked ready to respond to Kakashi's statement before Tsunade's voice sounded out over everyone, ending all of the conversations.

"Well now that we are all acquainted. I'm certain that those from Kiri are tired from their long travel, if you would like, I can get you all set up for your stay this evening," said Tsunade with a smile as all of the surrounding shinobi nodded their heads in agreement. "Great, Naruto, if you would be so kind to show them to their rooms. And we'll begin our talks at 10 am on the day after tomorrow, once my council members return from their meeting with our daimyo. Until then."

"If those from Kiri would follow me," said Naruto as he led the Kiri contingent through Konoha and into one of its most luxurious hotels. On his way, Naruto spotted a hawk flying through Konoha and land on Hashirama's head. Naruto couldn't help but smile.

"Suna. Kumo. and now Kiri. One village at a time Jiji. I'll get that peace you desired." thought Naruto fondly of his grandfather, Hashirama, as he watched the hawk take back off and fly through the air.

(Naruto's Apartment, Same time)

A small, white snake slithered its way through Naruto's apartment. Attached to that white snake was a note that carried a seal on it with the Uchiha Clan crest attached to the back of it. The snake was actually one of Sasuke's summonings and it was attempting to make its way to Naruto so it can hand him the note attached to his back. However, that plan was stopped as a sword pierced the back of the snake and the note.

Holding onto that sword was one of Konoha's elders, Danzo Shimura.

"Sorry, Sasuke. But to be honest, I need you gone. It'll be easier to control Orochimaru if you've been absorbed by him, especially considering that curse seal implanted on you. Then with his help, I'll be able to take over Konoha and finally bring peace to this world by uniting all nations under Konoha's roof." thought Danzo as one of his Root agents cleaned up the snake remains, making it appear as though it never entered Naruto's home. "Orochimaru will be able to handle the Kyubi after absorbing the Uchiha and me and my Root agents will handle Konoha. Then I'll become its Hokage and all I have to do is give up test subjects for Orochimaru. But honestly, I'll probably kill him as well once he's dealt with Minato's son. He'll be the only one who could stop me at that point."

Seeing that everything was back to normal and there was no trace, Danzo nodded his head. "Good. We are off. We have those peace talks here in two days with the Kiri contingent being that Hiruzen's teammates are out at the moment. And by then, the plan should be in motion." said Danzo as he vanished into the shadows of Naruto's apartment, never leaving a trace of being there behind.

(Hokage's Tower - Two Days Later)

It was morning time and approximately 9:30 when Tsunade received a knock at her door.

"Come in," said Tsunade, putting down her paperwork to see a man with a cane walk through the door. "Ahh, Danzo. You're early."

Danzo closed the door behind him as he walked in and took a seat in front of Tsunade. "Hime, it's been, and always has been, my personal preference to show up at least 30 minutes earlier. That's how Root used to do it, nothing like that Kakashi of yours," said Danzo peering a lone eye out at Tsunade.

"Hmmm, wonder why he separated it like that by saying Kakashi was mine." thought Tsunade as she went back to her paperwork. "While true, a little strange. He's technically over Kakashi too."

"Off the record at the moment, since we're both alone," said Tsunade, noticing Danzo wasn't accompanied by his Root agents at the moment. Probably didn't want to risk the Mizukage noticing their presence during the meeting. "Have you heard back from Sasuke? It should be about time to go after Orochimaru."

Danzo closed his lone eye before answering. "Not yet. Though it is true, Orochimaru should be trying to take over him here soon. Unless Sasuke's switched sides, but no that couldn't be possible, I personally trained him," said Danzo as Tsunade nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"True and from what Naruto's said about his most recent meeting with him, he was asking for help so it's unlikely that he'd become a traitor," said Tsunade as she shifted her eyes up at Danzo. "You didn't already send out a squad to get Sasuke, did you? Because you know how much Naruto wants to be a part of it. It's impressive that he hasn't told anyone about Root in the first place."

"Of course not. If and when we head out to retrieve Sasuke and end Orochimaru, Naruto will be the leader of that mission, but only if you deem it," said Danzo as Tsunade smiled.

"Great. I'm just glad there are no misunderstandings here. Because if you did attempt to botch the retrieval of one of my ninjas, for your own personal gain or any reason for that matter, I'll lock you away in a jail cell and end your root program," said Tsunade in her regular voice, but Danzo could hear the authority and venom behind it.

Danzo never showed any reaction to Tsunade's words on the outside, but internally he was contemplating what was said.

"The way she speaks is as if she knows. But that's impossible, I covered all my tracks and..." thought Danzo as with a shunshin, Naruto appeared in the room with Yugito. "That boy is still here. If Tsunade knew then she'd have sent him immediately since it'd take 2 days to get there, even at his speed. So if he hasn't left by now then there's no way he'd get there on time."

"Hey ba-chan," said Naruto with a smile before turning his face toward Danzo, ending his smile upon seeing him. "Elder Danzo."

"Hello Tsunade-dono," said Yugito as she smiled at the blonde Hokage. Tsunade smiled back at the appearance of her favorite blondes.

"Yugito-chan and Naruto, nice of you two to be here. Glad you could make it on time," said Tsunade as she and Yugito began to engage in a conversation. Naruto's eyes never panned off of Danzo however.

"Hello, Naruto. I see you're here for the meeting."

Naruto held a stern face. "Of course, I had a hand in making sure this alliance went through so Tsunade-ba-chan asked me if I wanted to come and I wasn't going to defy my Hokage. I'd never do something like that."

"He still holds animosity toward me since I sent those Root agents to stop him all those years ago." thought Danzo before answering. "Neither would I. Everything I do is for Konoha and I'm sure your Hokage understands that and that's why she has sided with me in the past and will likely side with me in the future."

"Hmph, it seems he refers to the moment when Tsunade sent out you and that rag-tag group of rookie ninjas to try and stop Sasuke, knowing there were better shinobi available."

Naruto mentally nodded. "It would seem so. I just can't wait for the day that Tsunade lets me kick his ass," replied Naruto back to his Bijuu partner.

"Oh yes, definitely. I've wanted to take a crack at that guy for the longest. Ever since I was 'in' your mother."

"Oh don't worry. I'll be sure to let you take a crack at him," said Naruto before he realized something about Kurama's statement. "What did you mean when you said 'in' my mother?"

Naruto heard nothing but a chuckle from Kurama in response. A few seconds later, another knock came at the door as Naruto performed a shunshin to appear before it and open the door. Upon opening it, Naruto was met by one of his favorite people in the world.

"Nee-chan!" said Naruto excitedly as he grabbed Shizune in a bear hug. "I haven't seen you in forever. Where have you been?"

Naruto sat down Shizune as she smiled at the blonde before her. "Well Naruto-kun, you'd see me if you take the correct way into Tsunade-sama's office. Since you go through the window all the time, you basically bypass me and all of the workers here in the Hokage Tower."

Naruto looked at Shizune skeptically. "You're trying to make me lose the bet with Jiraiya-sensei, aren't you? How much is he paying you to make me feel bad about not seeing you?"

"You'd think Jiraiya-sama would stoop so low to get you to lose the bet of who'd be able to grow through the window the longest by paying me to get you to feel bad?" questioned Shizune as Naruto nodded his head. "You're right. Is it working?"

"Yes, it is. You're ingenious nee-chan," said Naruto as Shizune smiled before addressing Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama, Mei-dono is in the conference room waiting for you with the other elders," said Shizune as Tsunade nodded her head. Tsunade stood up as she addressed Danzo, Naruto, and Yugito.

"If you would all follow me to the conference room," said Tsunade as those three followed her to the office.

(Same time, Somewhere in the Land of Grass)

"Kukukuku, Sasuke-kun. You didn't think that I'd not have a plan to stop you did you?" questioned Orochimaru as he stared at the downed Sasuke in front of him. Along Sasuke's body was black markings and he seemed to be in extreme pain as he looked up at Orochimaru with his Sharingan.

"This is Danzo's Juinjutsu (Cursed Seal). Is he in on this?" questioned Sasuke as he struggled to move but the cursed seal was too powerful.

Orochimaru smiled at Sasuke before answering. "Of course Danzo was in on this. He figured that I'd be less of a threat in your body than you would be in it. Danzo has plans and mine coincide with his. All I have to do is stop Naruto-kun and that'll be easy to accomplish in your body," said Orochimaru before grinning ominously at the Uchiha. "And be sure to know that none of your help is coming. Danzo made sure to stop all that. Not to mention the poison in your system was of design by Kabuto before he was captured. You're not going anywhere."

Sasuke struggled some more but it was no use. He was completely at the mercy of Orochimaru and could see the end approaching fast.

(In Konoha)

As Danzo was approaching the conference, a small rat walked past him in the hallway. Though the rat wasn't a normal one at second glance, it had appeared to be made of ink. Which it later was as it dispelled into a group of words.

Danzo-sama. That isn't the real Naruto. The Mizukage's two young shinobi are also not there.

Danzo looked up at Naruto in front of him as he couldn't ascertain what his Root agent was trying to get across to him.

"That's Naruto right there. So how could he not be the real one?" thought Danzo before it hit him. "He could be a Wood Clone.."

As Danzo thought that, the Naruto in front of him turned his head around slightly to look at him. Naruto smiled a big grin before turning his head back around to head into the conference room.

"And he took the Mizukage's shinobi to help him..." thought Danzo as he continued as if nothing happened.

(With Orochimaru)

Orochimaru looked at Sasuke as he prepared to begin the ritual to absorb Sasuke's body.

BOOM

An enormous explosion occurred that blew a huge chunk of the wall of the room Sasuke and Orochimaru were in. Standing in the hole of the wall with debris and rocks flying all around him was Naruto.

"Hot damn, I rock," said Naruto as he looked around expectantly for some laughs. Four figures stood behind him as two of them looked uninterested in his joke. "But I mean. 'Hot' because of the fiery explosion and the 'rocks' falling all around us? Aw well, forget it."

"Sasuke-kun!" came the voice of two of the people with Naruto. One with pink hair and the other with black hair.

"Sorry, Naruto-kun. Chojuro and I thought it was funny, just bad timing. You know, Orochimaru and then Sasuke's condition at the moment." came the calm voice of Haku as Naruto nodded his head.

"I understand. You two are with me," said Naruto as he took off down the hallway, the same one Orochimaru took off through once the explosion happened. Being that Naruto and the two mist shinobi disappeared, it left Sasuke alone with Sakura and the other figure.

That figure was in actuality a female. She was of average height, standing at 5 foot 4 inches tall. She had short, black hair and pink, pupil-less eyes. She wore the standard outfit of her village which consisted of a red uniform with her right sleeve missing and a lapel over her right leg, a brown flak jacket, fishnet tights, and a skirt over them. She also wears regular shinobi sandals and a pair of gloves. Situated around her forehead was a forehead protector that had the symbol for Iwagakure carved into it.

"Kurotsuchi. Sakura," said Sasuke weakly, addressing the two kunoichis beside him. "This is Danzo's Juinjutsu, I could break it but with the poison in my system, it's rather difficult. Did you get the antidote?"

Sakura nodded her head as she pulled out a vial with black liquid inside. "Of course. Naruto said that Kabuto would likely have poison and though it took a long process of mind-reading, Inoichi found out the contents of the poison. Making the antidote was easy after that." said Sakura as she placed the liquid into a needle.

Sasuke then bore his eyes over to Kurotsuchi's pink ones as Sakura prepped the antidote. Kurotsuchi looked back into Sasuke's Sharingan as she smiled at the Uchiha in front of her.

"Hi," greeted Kurotsuchi as Sasuke responded with a weak 'hi' in return. "I knew you sucked as a shinobi. How could you let someone get the drop on you like that? I thought you were the almighty Uchiha from Konoha. Last of his breed. If this is the best you got, I think I may need a better 'dance' partner."

Sasuke laughed weakly as he felt a needle get stabbed into his back. "Hn, you weren't saying that when I kicked you and your team's ass a year ago,"said Sasuke as Kurotsuchi's face scrunched up in slight embarrassment.

"Please, I wasn't the one leading the mission. Nor did you fight fairly. Had it been a straight-up one-on-one, me vs you, I'd have melted your pretty boy ass," said Kurotsuchi back to Sasuke before being swept off her feet, bridal style, by the Uchiha.

"It's good to see you again," said Sasuke, who broke Danzo's juinjutsu with ease once he was freed of the poison in his system.

Kurotsuchi smiled back at Sasuke. "It's good to see you too, Sasuke-kun," said Kurotsuchi before bringing Sasuke down into a kiss. The kiss lasted for about a minute before they were interrupted by a cough, that was followed by a huge explosion.

"Sasuke-kun. Not to ruin your reunion. But Orochimaru is still alive and attempting to run. So if you could finish that after we finish him, that'd be great." said Sakura as Sasuke and Kurotsuchi looked sheepish at forgetting about the pressing matter at hand. Sasuke placed Kurotsuchi on the ground before nodding his head.

"Let's go," said Sasuke taking off down a corridor with Kurotsuchi and Sakura in hot pursuit. Coming around a corner, they were met with an intriguing site. Orochimaru was standing on top of a corridor, as he watched Naruto and the two mist shinobis battle Edo Tensei reincarnations. Sasuke immediately recognized both of the Edo Tenseis and a tear came to his eye. Especially at the female one.

"Ka-chan," said Sasuke as there in Edo Tensei form, was his mother, Uchiha Mikoto. Upon hearing ka-chan, Mikoto turned to see the owner of that voice.

"Sasuke-chan," said Mikoto, staring out at Sasuke. "I guess this Edo Tensei has its blessings, I get to see my baby boy all grown up."

Sasuke stared out at Mikoto for a few more seconds before he heard Naruto slam the other figure into the ground. In doing so, Naruto slammed a palm in the stomach of the reincarnation.

"Fuin (Seal)," said Naruto as a seal spread out over the body of the figure, immobilizing him. "Sorry about your dad Sasuke, but you know how this goes. The only way to stop an Edo Tensei is to either seal them, make the user dispel the technique, or have them reach nirvana so that their souls are free to ascend from their trapped bodies. It's just I never guessed your mom would be stronger than your dad. Together they were quite the tandem."

"Hn, I was quite the accomplished kunoichi before I become a mother, Naruto-kun. I was also next in line to lead the Uchiha Clan but since we are a patriarch clan, Fugaku was given the right to be the leader," said Mikoto as Naruto arched his eyebrows, impressed at Mikoto's achievements.

"Well, at least you can't coordinate with anyone. It should be easier to stop you now," said Naruto before he heard Orochimaru laugh.

"Kukukuku...Naruto-kun you underestimate me and my power. I just needed to spare some time before I could gain enough power to summon the next body. One I'm sure you'll know well," said Orochimaru before clapping his hands together.

"Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation)," said Orochimaru as a coffin rose beside him. This coffin was different however as it was blood red in color. Mikoto jumped back up beside Orochimaru and the coffin, just as the lid to the coffin fell, revealing the person.

Naruto's eyes bulged out at who Orochimaru managed to summon.

"If you thought Mikoto and Fugaku were tough as a tandem. Just imagine what these two can do. Actually don't imagine, because you'll have to face them right now," said Orochimaru as Naruto began to tremble slightly. Naruto immediately recognized the person. Seeing their face made Naruto feel weak in the knees.

"Ka-chan," said Naruto weakly as Uzumaki Kushina was reincarnated by Orochimaru. Kushina's eyes opened to reveal black sclerae surrounding violet eyes that matched Naruto's. Kushina's eyes then pandered over into Naruto's own.

"Naruto-chan, my baby. My how you've grown," said Kushina, smiling at the young man in front of her. Kushina then looked behind her to see Orochimaru standing there with a devious grin on his face. "Orochimaru-teme, I should have known this would happen."

"Of course my dear Kushina-chan. And I'll have you know, your son is quite the nuisance to me. So why not have the person who brought him into this world, be the one to take him out?" asked a smiling Orochimaru before commanding Kushina mentally to attack her son. Mikoto was made to follow suit as she lunged out at Sasuke.

Naruto caught Kushina's fist in his palm, as his feet skidded back due to the power behind the strike. Sasuke merely parried Mikoto's fist as she continued past him, cracking the ground slightly. The mother and son duos then began a fast taijutsu battle as blows were exchanged from mother to son. While this was going on, the other four members of Naruto's group were wondering what to do.

"Should we help them or should we go after Orochimaru?" questioned Chojuro, anxious to know what to do.

Naruto dodged one of Kushina's kicks before backpedaling toward Sasuke. Sasuke performed a backflip to evade Mikoto's punch as he landed back to back with Naruto. Naruto took the opportunity to address his team.

"Don't worry guys. Sasuke and I will handle our mothers. You guys just go grab the other three people who will be joining us," said Naruto as Sasuke reached into his back pocket.

"Here are their coordinates. Meet us at the rendezvous point and we'll head out from there," said Sasuke as the team of four nodded before taking off toward the first person on the list, who wasn't far away and was trapped in a container of water.

Orochimaru looked interested at the instructions being handed out by the two young shinobi in front of him. "They must have forgotten about me. I could just leave at any time. Or I could stay and hope that Sasuke gets injured enough to the point that I can take over his body." thought Orochimaru before he decided to do the former. "I can always get Sasuke later, I'll have to find another body in the meantime but Sasuke can wait. There's no use in getting killed today, I have too much to accomplish."

Orochimaru turned to leave the building before his face was met by the underside of a wooden geta. Orochimaru was sent careening over Naruto and Sasuke, back through the room that they'd just come from.

"Glad to see I'm not late to the party." came the voice of the man behind the wooden geta. "Killing my old teammate, I'm about to check that off of my bucket list today."

"Jiraiya-sensei, we left him just for you," said Naruto as Jiraiya nodded his head before taking off after where he sent Orochimaru.

"You just be careful, kids. Your mothers are no pushovers. At one point they were deemed to be as good as Tsunade-hime. They were even deadlier as a duo," said Jiraiya before disappearing down the corridor.

Naruto and Sasuke turned their heads back to their respective mothers as they prepared to do battle once more.

"Though I don't like the circumstances. I did want to meet you ka-chan. I've heard so much about you." Naruto's words brought a smile to Kushina's face.

"Well, I hope you find a way to stop me. Because I can't control my movements. Here I come," said Kushina as she sprinted back out at Naruto. Naruto returned her sprint as he prepared to meet her head-on. Naruto and Kushina clashed together in a standstill as Naruto blocked Kushina's kick with his forearm while Kushina blocked Naruto's other fist with both of her arms. Naruto wasn't prepared for a golden chain to come flying out the back of his Mother's hair.

"Naruto, those are your mother's chakra chains. They have the power to suppress chakra. Do not get struck by one of those," said Kurama urgently in Naruto's head as Naruto acknowledged his partner and jumped to the side to dodge.

Naruto didn't have to wait long before 3 more chains appeared from Kushina's back and all of them were dancing around menacingly behind her. Kushina came back at Naruto full speed, as she began to lash out with more strikes that coordinated well with the chains that were floating behind her.

"Mom is so good at Taijutsu. It's scary. If this continues for any longer, I'll get struck by either her or one of her chains." thought Naruto as he continued to narrowly dodge Kushina's assault as that was all he felt he could do.

Meanwhile, Mikoto and Sasuke were still locking eyes with one another. Though on the outside it appeared as if they were just standing there. However, the two were actually locked in a battle of Genjutsu. Eventually, Sasuke began to flow through hand seals that were quickly mirrored by Mikoto.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique)," said Sasuke and Mikoto simultaneously as they both blew out huge fireballs toward one another. However, Sasuke immediately realized he was going to lose the battle when he noticed that Mikoto's fireball was near twice the size of his. Luckily, Naruto appeared next to Sasuke in a Shunshin as he held the ram seal.

"Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Style: Water Encampment Wall)." thought Naruto before he spat out an enormous stream of water that quickly doused the fire that was slowly approaching Sasuke. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief at Naruto's timely arrival.

"That was close. My mom is basically the same as me. Only better. She was beating me down in our Genjutsu fight and there was nothing I could do about it. Then the fireball technique just now," said Sasuke hard-pressed at how he was going to defeat his mom. "What about yours?" questioned Sasuke as he looked at the blonde beside him.

"Well, I'm just a clone. Boss is over there getting murdered by Ka-chan. He can't catch a break, he created 4 of us and only I made it over to help you and possibly formulate a plan," said the clone Naruto as Sasuke nodded his head.

"Well, if you can come up with something let me know because right now, we're getting nowhere fighting alone. Which was a good plan considering Jiraiya-sama said they were a fearsome duo," said Sasuke as Naruto's clone nodded.

"Well, what makes you both any different. I mean when you both were in Anbu together, you guys seemed unstoppable. Or when we helped protect the village," said the clone, shifting into a defense seeing Mikoto run through hand seals. "Maybe fighting together is better than alone."

Sasuke thought for a moment before agreeing with the replica of Naruto. "Maybe you're right. Now we just have to tell Naruto," said Sasuke as he was pushed out of the way by the clone.

"Got it covered," said the clone before he was violently blown to pieces by Mikoto's fire jutsu just now.

"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fire Dragon Technique)," said Mikoto as she placed her hands on her hips and looked out at Sasuke with disappointment. "Now if that clone hadn't moved you out of the way, you would have been blown to bits by that jutsu. Didn't anyone ever teach you to never take your eyes off your opponent?" questioned Mikoto in a motherly tone as Sasuke stood back up from being pushed away by the clone.

Just as Sasuke was standing up, Naruto landed beside him with several cut marks on his clothes, but nothing that actually hit his skin.

"Dude, this sucks," said Naruto noticing the singe marks on Sasuke's shirt and pants from Mikoto's last jutsu.

"You're right but I think your clone had the right idea. We weren't getting anywhere separate and I don't think a change of mothers would have helped either, we need to do this together," said Sasuke as Naruto nodded his head. Kushina landed next to Mikoto as her chains continued to dance behind her head.

"Let's do this," said Naruto as he placed his hands in the snake seal.

"Mokuton: Mokujoheki (Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall)." thought Naruto as he surrounded Sasuke and himself in a dome of interlocking wooden pillars. Kushina and Mikoto both appeared on the outside of the wall before smashing a hole through each side of it. Upon doing so, they realized that nothing was in the dome. Only a sealing array could be seen on the ground, that spread out underneath the both of them.

"Mokuton Kuchiyose (Wood Style Summoning)." thought Naruto as a huge, venus fly trap sprung from the ground to eat Kushina and Mikoto. Both Mikoto and Kushina jumped as Mikoto fired a huge fireball into the mouth of the giant plant. The plant swallowed the fireball whole as it began to burn internally while smoke clouded the area.

The plant continued to burn to a crisp as Mikoto and Kushina could be seen coming out of the smoke cloud, descending to the ground. Upon descending, however, they were met in midair by Sasuke.

"Daburu Chidori (Double Chidori)!" shouted Sasuke, who held two Chidoris in his hands that pierced both Mikoto and Kushina at the same time. Sasuke immediately pulled his hand out of Mikoto and Kushina as a branch snagged him and pulled him away from the two.

BOOM

Both Mikoto and Kushina had exploded in midair.

"Ka-chan must have made the switch while they were in the smoke cloud," said Naruto, bringing Sasuke down beside him from the branch that was his arm. Naruto's arm morphed back into his regular arm as he sensed Mikoto and Kushina behind him and Sasuke. "This is going to be a long fight Sasuke."

"I'm sorry baby. I can't help it," said Kushina as Naruto nodded his head in understanding.

Mikoto then smiled. "It seems you were right Kushina. Sasuke and Naruto did grow up to be friends. And that combination just now would have gotten lesser shinobis. This is great, too bad we have to fight each other."

"Yeah, I hear you on that," said Sasuke as Mikoto and Kushina began to sprint back at their sons. "Here they come. Again."

(With Haku and Chojuro)

The group of four consisting of Haku, Chojuro, Sakura, and Kurotsuchi split up to get to their targets faster. Sakura took to the southernmost hideout in search of one of the people on Sasuke's list. Kurotsuchi took to the northernmost hideout in search of the second person on Sasuke's list. While Haku and Chojuro took to the third member of Sasuke's list.

Haku rounded a turn with Chojuro as they were met with a door that appeared to be bolted shut. Haku stopped in front of the door as she looked back at Chojuro behind her. Haku placed a hand on the door as ice began to spread out over the door in its entirety. Feeling as though she froze enough of the door, Haku backed away.

"Chojuro," said Haku as Chojuro nodded his head. Chojuro pulled the big sword off his back as he held it with both hands. The bandages around the sword unraveled as Chojuro let out a big shout while swinging the sword at the door.

"Hiramekarai Kai (Hiramekarai Release)," said Chojuro as chakra coated Hiramekarai before turning into the shape of a hammer. Chojuro smashed the chakra hammer into the frozen door, which turned into tiny pieces due to its newfound brittleness from Haku icing it.

Haku was the first into the room as she came upon a large water tank. Haku didn't wait long before she heard a voice come from the water tank that made her smile happily on the inside.

"Is that Haku-chan? And Chojuro?" came a voice from the water tank as Haku smiled.

"Suigetsu-kun...you're here," said Haku as she and Chojuro prepared to set Suigetsu free.

(South Hideout with Sakura)

"What the hell do you mean I have to come with you?" questioned a redhead girl, wearing glasses who looked to be the same age as Sakura. The girl was in a fighting stance as she attempted to fight Sakura.

"It's not me who wants you to come with us. It's Sasu-" started Sakura before she had to dodge a punch from the redhead.

"I don't want to hear about this. There's no way, absolutely no way I'd ever come with you. I don't care who wants me to," said the girl before Sakura appeared behind her. Sakura placed a glowing palm on the back of the girl's head, causing the girl to fall into a deep sleep.

"Kami, why couldn't I get the psycho?" questioned Sakura as she proceeded to drag the redhead out of the building before activating the seals she placed.

BOOM

Sakura blew up the entire hideout, leaving nothing out of reach from the explosion, effectively destroying every last piece of the hideout and all of the nasty experiments inside. Sakura then proceeded back to the rendezvous point with the redhead in tow.

(North Hideout with Kurotsuchi)

"Why couldn't I get the weak redhead?" questioned Kurotsuchi as she dodged a huge fist. The fist blew out a hole in the wall as the man behind the fist looked at Kurotsuchi with a crazed look.

"I'll kill you! HAHAHA!" came the even crazier voice of the large man with orange hair. He made a move to attack Kurotsuchi again before he was stopped dead in his tracks by Kurotsuchi's next jutsu.

"Yoton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu (Lava Style: Quicklime Congealing Technique)." thought Kurotsuchi as she realized a wave of quicklime from her mouth at the large man, which acted like quick-drying cement, quickly immobilizing him from moving any further. The man with orange hair proceeded to struggle to move but couldn't as the jutsu was too powerful for him to break. The man then succumbed to unconsciousness as Kurotsuchi placed the seal Naruto had given her on his forehead, cutting off the large man's chakra and sending him into a deep sleep.

"That should do it," said Kurotsuchi before realizing she'd now have to lug the large man out of there. "Sasuke owes me for this." finished Kurotsuchi, picking up the man before heading out of the hideout. On her way out of the hideout, there were several other people situated outside. All of them were dead as Kurotsuchi killed them on her way to her target.

"Cursed Seal. I feel bad for killing you all but, it had to be done," said Kurotsuchi and just before leaving, she placed the man on the ground as she put her hands in the snake seal. Kurotsuchi slammed both of her palms on the ground as all around her, everything rumbled as if an earthquake was occurring.

"Doton: Sando no Jutsu (Earth Release: Sandwich Technique)." thought Kurotsuchi as the ground began to rumbled tremendously. On both sides of the hideout, enormous walls of Earth rose that was double the size of the hideout before they closed together, sandwiching the entire hideout between them. Kurotsuchi then placed her hands in the ram seal as she stomped the ground with her foot. The sandwich of Earth Kurotsuchi created spewed out a large amount of lava as Kurotsuchi essentially created a volcano to destroy the Northern Hideout.

Kurotsuchi picked the man back up as she proceeded to head back to the rendezvous point.

(With Jiraiya and Orochimaru)

Jiraiya jumped into the room he'd just kicked Orochimaru into to see Orochimaru regurgitating another one of himself. Jiraiya's sudden arrival surprised Orochimaru and that kick from earlier definitely would have killed or at least incapacitated a lesser man.

"Good to see you still alive there old friend," said Jiraiya staring into the slit eyes of Orochimaru. "I hope that you didn't think I wouldn't show up to kill you? I feel I deserve that honor after all these years and since you killed my sensei."

"Kukukuku. Of course, you'd be here. I should have known," said Orochimaru as he interlaced his fingers. Orochimaru then proceeded to cough out his ever-sharp Kusanagi blade as he held it in his hands. "I will kill you Jiraiya. And afterward, I will absorb that Uchiha boy once his mother is finished with him."

"Ha, If you think Naruto will get defeated, you have another thing coming. That kid is already stronger than both of us and I'm sure that Sasuke kid is no pushover. Even if Kushina and Mikoto are powerful, those two will surely come away victorious. In which case, they'll come to watch me beat your ass," said Jiraiya as he continued to stall.

"That's if they can get over the emotional wall that'll impede their talents and thinking from facing their dear mothers," said Orochimaru with a smile as he finally realized why Jiraiya didn't immediately continue attacking him. "Sage mode."

Around Jiraiya's eyes, an orange pigmentation began to align across his brow as his eyes turned golden and his pupil became bar-like.

"Oh yeah. I'll have to remember to thank Naruto for those tips. I'm officially a complete sage," said Jiraiya with a smile. Jiraiya then smirked at his old friend Orochimaru. "Oh yeah, it's..about..to go..down."

"You're right Jiraiya! It is! You're not the only one who was stalling for time," said Orochimaru as horns began to grow from his head and the purple pigmentation around his eyes grew darker and flowed farther down his face through his back. "You're not the only one who knows Sage Mode."

Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru as his smirk dropped slightly. "Fuck." said Jiraiya as Orochimaru came sprinting at him with his sword cocked back.

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